Weeks 4 & 5 for Trapper the Wonder Dog!

Because he wasn't feeling well, we postponed Trapper's next chemo treatment, and thankfully on September 18, Trapper was feeling great, so he had the final treatment of the first of round of chemo, Mitoxantrone. Unfortunately, the chemo was really rough on him--his stomach was a wreck and he was losing his appetite, so he went back to the vet on September 23. His white blood cell count was still in the normal range (8.0 and the low end of normal is 6.0), but we added Metronidazole (an antibiotic) to help protect Trapper from the risk of bacterial overgrowth following the die-off of "good bacteria" in his gut.

Two days later, on September 25, Trapper woke up super sick. He was the saddest of the sad :( We've seen this before, when his autoimmune disease was not under control years ago. So, back to the vet we went! Sure enough, his white blood cell count was down to 3.8. We added Baytril (a more powerful antibiotic) and Cerenea (to help with nausea and hopefully bring back his appetite). He was a brand new pup when I picked him up! He was full of energy, tried to go through the front door of the vet's office to chase a squirrel and even jumped up to steal a piece of pizza off the table at dinner!



Trapper playing the "wait" game..really, he just wants me to release him so he can eat the treats on his paws

Week 5 is an off week in Trapper's protocol, so no treatments last week. This past weekend Trapper got to join us on a trip to Fort Collins--we had a lot of fun!

Trapper loves Fort Collins

Trapper checked out the map on our hike Sunday morning. He loved it!

Ready to walk, Mom!

Trapper was less than impressed by this selfie!



Trapper's feeling like some island time, so he put on one of Tate's flip flops!

 
Tomorrow Trapper has Vincristine treatment, and the start of the 2nd of 4 rounds of chemo. This boy is so amazing...Love him!

Week 3, a scary few days and some amazing photos.....

On September 9, Trapper had his 3rd treatment, Vincristine, and we also lowered his prednisone dose. What happened in the next few days was VERY scary. Trapper started dropping weight (2+ pounds in only 3 days), and he lost his appetite. I was so worried about my little buddy--he just looked like skin and bones. I honestly thought the end was near for my Trapper-wrapper :(

I took him to the vet on Friday and as usual they were awesome! We didn't get an answer about what was wrong, except possibly that the lymphoma had come back and was hiding in his intestines and/or the chemo protocol just wasn't working. Both of these possibilities felt like a punch in the gut. An ultrasound revealed nothing, so I suggested we increase the prednisone and see what would happen. The vet agreed, and suggested a follow up with the cancer doc on Monday. Thankfully, the prednisone did the trick--my little buddy came back!! He's now happy, full of energy and HUNGRY. Never have I been so happy to see him up on his back legs with his paws on the dining room table stealing a quesadilla as I was tonight!!

Today I spoke to the cancer vet. She suspects that the prednisone was actually treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease (which we all think Trapper has, though we don't have proof right now). She thinks that dropping the prednisone dose was the reason he got so sick, not necessarily because of lymphoma in the intestines or the treatment not working. Of course, none of us really know, which is hard...

So, we'll stay the course with the prednisone for a month or two. Assuming this week's chemo treatment goes well, we'll monitor the diarrhea. If it doesn't improve, we will likely increase his Azathioprine (an immunosuppressant drug he's on to treat his ITP) to try to get the Inflammatory Bowel Disease under control. We have opted to delay chemo this week from tomorrow to Thursday to give Trapper a chance to continue to improve. This week's treatment is a hard-core one--Mitoxantrone. It can really hammer the white blood cells, which is an extra concern for Trapper with his ITP. This drug is a substitute for Adriamycin that is normally given on these weeks in the protocol. Adriamycin can lead to extreme cardiac toxicity, so a dog can only have 5 doses in his life. Trapper had 4 the last time through the protocol, so we're switching this week since he has 3 more doses (of Mitoxantrone) over the next 22 weeks. The entire treatment protocol is 26 weeks, which would put him completing chemo around Valentine's Day 2015 :)

So, now the good stuff!! My friend, Heather, offered to take photos of my Trap dog and I think the results were stunning! I will be forever grateful for these pictures :) Check them out:

What a prince!

What a beautiful boy

Here's Trapper showing me his "Buddha belly", one of our favorite tricks

What can I say? I'm in awe of him.

There's a dog who has the world by the tail!

Me and my boy

Another amazing shot

This one is my favorite--it really captures the bond I have with my sweet Trapper dog.

The last week has been tough. I've faced the reality (and then quickly run away and hid from it) that my days with Trapper are numbered. But just when I'm about to lose faith, he gives me a good ol' Trapper growl for hugging him a little too long, or looks at me like "What's WRONG with you??" He has taught me so much about an unbreakable spirit, and having a will to live that rivals anyone I've ever known, human or canine. So, thanks, Trapper. Keep teaching me, OK?

Hug your pups or your humans, or whomever--we are all blessed to wake up every day.

Week 2

The last 10 days have been busy for Trapper. The good news is that Trapper is in remission!! This is awesome news, because it means that the chemo is working!

Trapper is quite proud of himself for being in remission!

We went out of town and Trapper had his own "home away from home" in the garage where he could relax and sleep away from the hustle and bustle.


Chillin' on his throne



I'm taking prednisone, can you tell, can you tell, can you tell??? ;D



Our awesome vets sent fluids with us so that I could keep Trapper hydrated

What a gorgeous view. Makes you feel a little better, doesn't it Trap??

Hey, buddy.

The weekend was a lot of fun, but I had some poignant moments with my boy. He was definitely weak and thin, and, frankly, I was scared. But Trapper's never been one for crying or being sentimental, so he didn't play along ;D

Trap

When we got home, Trapper had his 2nd treatment, Cytoxan. This is the only medicine that's given as a pill 3 days in a row, instead of an injection like the other treatments.

To help Trapper feel better and stay healthy, he had laser treatment on his hips and some energy work compliments of Dr Andi and Amanda:

I was still worried about Trapper, as his stomach was still a wreck and his weight was down by 2 pounds, so we stopped by the vet's office on Thursday. The vet was awesome, and helped talk me off the cliff. She reminded me that Trapper would need some time to recover from chemo. Thankfully, he seems to be feeling better the last few days!

Look at those sparkly eyes! So happy to see Trapper playing with his toys again :)

Trapper's appetite is back! So is our pre-rinse cycle :)

OK, creepy photo, I know, but interestingly, Trapper has been sleeping with his eyes open the last few days--weird!



Food! Chicken, rice and ID food to be specific. I've been trying to load him up on calories to help him gain weight.



Cheers to my boy!!

As always, give your pups an extra hug--every day is a gift :)